‘Agents Of SHIELD: Slingshot’ Trailer: What Is Yo-Yo’s Secret Mission?

Yo-Yo Rodriguez, a speedster played by Natalia Cordova-Buckley on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, will star in her own spinoff called Slingshot. The digital series will consist of a half dozen three- to six-minute episodes and starts streaming on the ABC app Dec. 13.

Slingshot will explore Yo-Yo’s life between Agents of SHIELD Seasons 3 and 4. Forced to sign the Sokovia Accords after the events of Captain America: Civil War , Yo-Yo turned down SHIELD’s offer to become a Secret Warrior at first. As the Slingshot teaser revealed, Yo-Yo had her own personal mission to tend to. Whatever Yo-Yo had to take care of in Columbia may be the reason why she's had such a hard time trusting the team. Cordova-Buckley says we’ll find out why exactly Yo-Yo was so scared of SHIELD in Slingshot.

“It explores her story between Season 3 and 4, and a lot of her stance within the institution of SHIELD and anything that has to do with bureaucracy or government,” Cordova-Buckley said in a trailer released on ABC Go.

Eventually, Cordova says, Yo-Yo comes to the realization that being a part of SHIELD is about the team, not the bureaucracy or the powers above it.

“I think she has that thought within her that she can help make SHIELD better and the team stronger.”

Yo-Yo’s story is unique. In the comics, she is a Puerto Rican woman. In Agents of SHIELD , she is of Colombian descent. Cordova is Mexican, of Yaqui and Andalusian heritage. In the trailer released on ABC Go, Cordova explains how Yo-Yo’s identity helps her relate to the character and how her origins affected her decision to join SHIELD.

“There’s a lot of me in Yo-Yo, and there's a lot of Yo-Yo in me,” Cordova says. “They've written her so human, she’s got this incredibly strong side. In Slingshot we’re going to see a lot of her anger and pain come out in regards to certain injustices that have been done to her and her family, but at the same time, she never loses her humanity. She doesn't let her anger blind her. The story I tell myself is she comes from a third-world country and when you come from third-world countries you never really feel protected by your government, or your police and I think Yo-Yo has a bit of that.”

If you remember back to Season 3, we first met Yo-Yo in Columbia, where she was fighting against police corruption in Bogota. SHIELD captured her, but once they realized her agenda aligned with theirs, Coulson agreed to work with Yo-Yo on a mission. Daisy, Joey and Mack tried to convince her to stay with SHIELD and join the Secret Warriors to master her powers, but Yo-Yo declined, saying she had unfinished business in Columbia.

Soon after, SHIELD desperately called Yo-Yo for help when HYDRA stole the Zephyr and Hive mind-controlled Daisy. After the defeat of Hive, she signed the Sokovia Accords. She wound up in Los Angeles and noticed Quake had gone rogue against the Watchdogs. When she was called back to SHIELD for her registered Inhuman checkup, Mack let it slip that he and Coulson were on the hunt for Daisy. That’s when Yo-Yo sought out Daisy to warn her.

But now, after going behind Mack and Coulson’s backs, she appears to be a pretty solid member of the team. She’s loyal and fearless, however, her personal life is still for the most part unknown. Slingshot may see Yo-Yo fighting against the National Police of Columbia for killing her brother, Francisco Rodriguez. We may also see some of Yo-Yo’s friends we met during the blackout in Miami this season, who all had no idea she was an inhuman.

“I think that's her whole struggle with SHIELD. Is she with SHIELD or is she not? I think she really wants to believe in them and wants to trust them but she can’t complete silence that part of her yet because there’s still that calling that she's had to deal with injustice and the law in that way her whole life so she kind of continues doing it throughout Slingshot,” Cordova explains.

Slingshot will also feature appearances from other Agents of SHIELD characters, such as Mack, Coulson, Mace, Daisy, May, Fitz and Jemma. Check out the synopsis below.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot takes place shortly before the beginning of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4. The digital series features Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez, an Inhuman with the ability to move at super-speed. As a person with powers, she must sign the Sokovia Accords. However, the restrictions of the Accords are in direct conflict with a personal mission she’s desperate to fulfill, one that will test her abilities and will include tense encounters with S.H.I.E.L.D. team members.

Agents of SHIELD Season 4 returns Jan. 10.